4:40pm: We need to talk about Kevin
We're not just giving large amounts of coverage to Kev Allen because he is sat next to the media desk right now He's also winning some key pots that have seen him move from shortstack to title contender in the space of a few hands.
Recently we joined a hand on the turn of a [Td][5d][2d][Kh] board, Allen looking very serious and checking before his opponent (Simen Gangstøe) got a count of his remaining stack.
Once he'd done so, he set Allen in, Allen making a quick call with pocket deuces for a sneakily-played set.
Gangstøe merely had [As][Qh] for a gutshot which bricked on the river.
Allen up to 300,000 now, his opponent falls to 170,000...--RS
4:35pm: Big pot slides to Bounsall
After seeing a whole load of blue and green chips in the middle at table 3 we decided to stick around and sweat the action. On a board of [2d][7c][Ad][Kh][6s], UK player Alex Bounsall stuck out 55k. Jamie O'Connor thought for a moment and when his mind was made up he threw out the call. It turned out to be the wrong one as Bounsall flipped over [As][6d] for a rivered two-pair. -JS
4:22pm: Allen gets a boost
He may still be someway off the chipleaders and hasn't even got an average stack in fact but Kev Allen has just doubled and could yet prove to be a danger man.
Holding pocket nines on the button he battled preflop with Fernando Marin, who looked disappointed that his [Ac][Kh] wasn't in better shape than he felt it should have been versus Allen's button range.
A board which contained no kings or aces saw Allen double to over 150,000 whilst Marin takes a hit, down to 220,000. -- RS
4:18pm: Joy quickly turns to sorrow
When the dealer burns and spreads a flop and the first card you see is the one you need to hit, it's an awesome feeling; sadly, though, it's one that can so quickly turn the other way.
Steve O'Keeffe min-raised from early position and it was folded round to Caicai Huang in the big blind. She didn't take long to move all-in and O'Keeffe snapped it off. Huang showed [Jh][Jc] and was ahead of O'Keeffe's [Ac][Qc]. Then a queen fell in the window.
Followed by a jack. The board ran out [Js][10d][Qd][3s][3c] and O'Keeffe was sent to the rail. --JS
4:15pm: A fine defence
We've seen a few UKIPT champions put up strong defences of their title - Max Silver finishing first and fourth at consecutive UKIPT Dublin's is the closet there's been to a repeat though.
Well, Brett Angell - who won UKIPT4 London in October - is doing a good job here in London and just got a near triple up to further increase his chances. Nicolas Berry shoved from the button for around 80,000, Christopher Gordon then re-shoved from the small blind (he had about 150,000) and Angell took a few seconds before he called all-in for 109,000.
Angell: [Ac][Kc]
Berry: [Ah][5c]
Gordon: [Kd][10h]
Angell was a 49% favourite to win the hand pre-flop but after the [Jh][6h][3h] flop he and Gordon were near tied as favourites with 43% equity each. The [Ks] turn was a big help for Angell as it made him a 73% favourite and he held on the [8d] river to near triple up.
What's more as he won the pot his football team - Middlesbrough - took the lead against Man City and thanks to the wonders of instant replay Angell could watch the goal on his iPad. Nice life! -- NW
4:12pm: Quiet Lee does it
Hak-Mann Lee has been going about his business quietly and efficiently today and now has a stack capable of challenging for the title.
He doubled up care of Peter Flynn, having raised the button with [Ah][Js] and called Flynn's three-bet from the blinds.
A board of [As][6h][4s] saw Flynn fire 18,000 and Lee make the call. The turned [Kh] saw Flynn fire a second bullet of 36,000, although this time Lee waited a few moment before moving all-in.
Flynn made the call with [Ac][Td] only to squirm as he realised he was outkicked.
Lee has jumped up to over 300,000 now and Flynn is still well-stacked with around 275,000. -- RS
4:07pm: Cash crush
The period immediately after the bubble bursts is usually frantic and an astounding 31 players busted out during level 17. They all made the money of course, we'll bring you news of who finished where just as soon as the crush at the cash desk subsides. -- NW
Blinds up: 4,000/8,000, 1,000 ante
4:02pm: Andy Black's in the black after double-up
Level 17 is proving to be a good one for Irish poker pro Andy Black. He just managed to double up when his pocket sixes turned into a set on the flop, and now sits a little more comfortably with a stack of 250k (41 big blinds).
With more than $4.4m in live tournament winnings, Black is no stranger to this stage of a tournament. He currently sits second on Ireland's all time money list behind Steve O'Dwyer. -- JS
4pm: Willie out
Not long ago Willie Tann was one of the big stacks, but he's just been eliminated in 91st place and his exit hand was pretty brutal. On the face of it losing with nines to ace-queen is about as standard garden variety as exits come but Tann explained that the board came [10][K][10][K] so his pair was counterfeited. -- NW
3:50pm: We don't know our "r"'s from our elbows
Christopher Nazer fans - apologies for managing to miss the "r" from Christopher's first name in an earlier post. He has not suddenly turned French.
Nazer's stack is still one of the biggest in the tournament though he has dropped down a little - currently sat with 420k or so... --RS
3:45pm: Weiland secures dominant double
Kevin Weiland has cut a chunk out of Paul Simmons stack. The hand saw two hands collide that seemed destined to go to war. With 100,000 and [As][Qh] on the button Weiland was always going to commit his chips whilst Simmons in the blinds might have expected his [As][Jc] to have a bit more equity when he took on the button raise and the cards were on their backs.
A board of [Qs][6s][Tc][6c][4d] saw Weiland double to 200,000 whilst Simmons drops to a similar amount. --RS
3:37pm: Matti De Muelder eliminated
It's the end of the line for Team PokerStars Pro Matti De Muelder. After Beyazit Zorlu min-raised on the button, De Muelder shoved his remaining stack over the top, forcing the Turkish player to a touch decision. It was one he would make, however, and the cards were on their backs: [Ac][7d] for De Muelder and [6s][6d] for Zorlu.
The board ran out [2d][10c][3d][4d][Qs], sending Matti to the rail where he'll collect £1,260 for his efforts. -- NW
Busted the #ukiptLondon main in 97th place (which is in the money). Now homebound for #TCOOP on @PokerStarsBE
— Matthias De Meulder (@mattionfire) January 24, 20153:30pm: Cody cashes, but then crashes
There's a big queue at the payout desk at the moment ant Team PokerStars Pro Jake Cody is one of those waiting in line to get paid. He was kind enough to tell the PokerStars Blog how he exited the tournament. "On the first hand back from the break the big blind was sitting out and I was on the button. It folded to me and I shoved jack-nine, the small blind (Andrew Sweeney) called with K-Q and he held. That dropped me from 120,000 to about 45,000. I then shoved 8-9 from under-the-gun and got called by A-Q. We flopped a nine but he (Carl Croucher) rivered an ace."
Cody said that he's sticking around and may well late reg the London Cup which stated earlier today. -- NW
3:25pm: Busting for fun
As is usual following the bubble bursting we've seen a further slew of eliminations as the handcuffs come off and the wanton spin ups begin.
Already 10 players or so have been eliminated, including Shaun Conning whose A-J failed to outdraw Christopher Gordon's A-K. Gordon up to around 300,000.
Also gone is Chi Hao Tsang whose pocket sevens lost a race to get him back in contention.
The potentially epic comebacks from the super shortstacks of Camilla Reventlow and Damian Robertson didn't come to pass and they depart with their hard-earned minimum payouts.
The queue for the cash desk is getting longer by the second. We're down to 103 players... -- RS
3:20pm: Heads-up
The start of level 17 caught many by surprise so much so that the first hand back from the break at table five was a heads-up affair. Both blinds were sitting out, Peter Seed limped in but Willie Tann was having none of it, raising it up to 21,500 total. Back on Seed he instantly moved all-in for around 80,000 and said: "I need a double up." Tann has a few miles on the clock though and simply folded his hand. -- NW
3:15pm: Day 2 action continues
Welcome back as we continue the Day 2's coverage with the bubble burst, 111 happy-to-be-getting-paid players and a title to fight for.
Luminaries such as Jake Cody, Andy Black, Nik Persaud, Ross Boatman and Willie Tann amongst others remain in contention but the field is stacked with talent and a number of players have a realistic shot of winning this title with some good cards and a fair wind.
At the moment Christophe Nazer is the man heading the pack - his 580,000 looking tough to topple. This is poker though, we've seen heroes come and go, and nothing can be taken for granted as the tension is ratcheted up.
Two players who will be ecstatic about surviving the bubble period are Camilla Reventlow and Damian Robertson. With 22,000 and 11,000 respectively, they were in huge danger of elimination but with a cash secured, they can go for broke and look to spin up this pittance into something that could see them propelled further into the tournament. --RS